Friday, November 15, 2013

It's that time of year when a lot of my friends are posting things with themes like '30 days of thankfulness' on Facebook and other places, and I always kind of hope that no one thinks I'm an ungrateful wretch because I'm not participating. To prove (hopefully) that I'm not an ungrateful wretch, I offer up this post about some of the blessings of homeschooling. In no particular order, here are 10 things I'm thankful for this year:

I'm thankful for memories. Because we homeschooled, I have some very precious memories of educational milestones, some of which are every bit as important as their first steps and first words. I got to teach them how to read, how to write, and lots of other fun firsts.

I'm thankful for the library and for books. Our library is a wonderful resource for us, and I'm especially glad that Kennady loves books like I do. The boys read, but they are far more utilitarian about it.

I'm thankful for a relaxed dress code. As in pajamas. I don't mind if the kids stay in their pajamas till lunchtime. Sometimes I do too!

I'm thankful that we don't have to catch a school bus. Not only because we can stay in our pajamas, but we can stay inside when it's cold out.

I'm thankful that I can direct our studies and choose our curriculum. I can teach from a Biblical worldview and can choose materials that line up with that. We can take our time when we need to, and blow through things quickly when we need to do that.

I'm thankful that we can personalize the studies to our situations and to the needs of each student.

I'm thankful that we can take vacation whenever we want to, without getting permission from a school. And that we can enjoy parks and museums and all kinds of places on days other than the days the public school kids are all there!

I'm thankful that I pretty much know what's going on with my kids and their friends. And that they talk to me. My kids talk to me (except Spencer - he just doesn't talk much! LOL) AND their friends usually talk to me.

I'm thankful for the relationships built through homeschooling. I'm convinced that our family relationships are stronger, because we learn to have good conversations and we have fun together. And we've made many good friends in the homeschooling community - both in our local community, and online.

I'm thankful for the Schoolhouse Review Crew, and the opportunity it has given me to use resources that we might not have even heard of otherwise. We've found some real gems among the things we've been able to review. Plus - more of those friendships I just mentioned!

Homeschooling isn't always easy, but it can be so rewarding. Mostly I'm thankful that we decided to give it a whirl, and that God has enabled us to homeschool and has blessed us in so many ways.

What are you thankful for this year? Leave a comment and share your thoughts! Be sure to visit the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog (this link will be live on Tuesday, November 19th) to see other Crew members' thoughts "On Being Thankful". You can also visit the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog homepage to see lots of product reviews, and past blog cruise topics.

Such wonderful things to be thankful for in homeschooling. I love your list. And I'm sure no one would think you are an ungrateful wretch. It takes time to participate in those things. I have given up trying. Thanks for stopping by and sharing with Throwback Thursday Blog-Style. I can't wait to see what you share this week.